Book Your Next Stay With Santoor Guest House So You Can Experience All That Manoharpur Has to Offer

What does it take for someone to step off the same old shuttle between the usual work and home? It is as if we are inwardly chained to a place
that doesn't even feel buzzing anymore. And we keep on wondering about what we
could perhaps do to feel lively all over again.

(Yes, it takes only a moment to answer the above
question. You all, like me, would probably say COVID19. It is better not to
step out of your home and give travel a break for now. However, we are all hopeful that
these hard times would also pass. The post is for future days when the pandemic
is behind us. It is thus meant for tomorrow, written as a heartfelt memoir to a
wonderful stay previously. FOR THE TIME BEING THOUGH, STAY PUT, STAY SAFE AND
DO NOT TRAVEL OUT. )

Now picture yourself drinking up your morning brew
amidst tall green trees. A picture that is so familiar on the Instagram feeds. A vast solitude engulfs the surrounding, refreshing
the air. Pure air laden with fresh oxygen from the nearby forest creates
an ideal ambiance to relax. Simply the healing you needed, right! Rejuvenating retreat
of the tired mind and body as well. Time and again,we need this
elixir. And that's just your daybreak at Santoor Guest House-
the homestay located at Manoharpur to provide the perfect gateway to the famed
Saranda forest.

A Weekend Staycation by Asia’s Largest Sal Forest

A stone's throw away from the Manoharpur Railway station, this is one among the many destinations that boost the last-minute weekend getaways given the easy
access and picturesque landscape. Santoor Guest House
offers a decorous comfort amidst Nature to understand that life is all about
finding inner peace.

The routine at the guest house is quintessentially subtle and low-key. You can start off your day basking in the warmth of the pleasant
weather (if be so, avoid the summers) in the garden or snuggle down at a comfy
spot of your choice, pondering over the amicable oomph that unites Nature here. Simply inhale in the fresh air and feel alive! The guests may also choose to pay off the entire
time humouring in any kind of pastimes like photography or reading
books; plenty of which is available at the very in-house library of Santoor.
Take my word, these delights will never fall short to rinse away the city delusions out of your
soul.

These delights will never fall short to rinse away the city delusions out of your system.

***

The foundation stone was laid by
Late (Dr.) Baidyanath Ganguly. However, his elder son, Late Abhijit
Ganguly was to be attributed to the modernization of Santoor- right from the
conceptualization to planning and the subsequent designing. Everything in the
design is so geared that it reflects his deft aesthetics and creativity.

The practice is now being taken
forward by his wife Smt Manjusha Ganguly, an ex-Headmistress of the senior
Girl’s High School, and a revered name by herself.

***

Accommodation

There are two cottages in the resort. One of the cottages is
equipped with 2 double- bedded rooms with attached baths. The other cottage provides a dormitory, with 8 cots facing each other and 2 attached baths. Lately, the accommodation has been expanded which includes 2 rooms with three beds in one
and four in the other, washrooms attached. So if you are visiting with family
and friends, you would not be disappointed. There is also a generator
available to survive through the recurrent power cuts if any.

***

You wouldn’t consider it as a
guest house, you will call it a home away from home. You will be spoilt by
their hospitality, great food, and impeccable service.

The main building and the interiors of the room with four beds (with attached washroom)

Gunjan: The Dining

This unit is
absolutely going to appease you. Why? The name itself says a lot. Walking into
the dining greets you with the whiffs of the breakfast banquet, arranged for you
to feast on. A weekending is indeed incomplete without good food and
togetherness, and here you can reach out for both. The tables are so arranged
that you face each other while having your food. While you bargain your appetite, you
communicate and equate with people here, known and unknown, amidst the
chitter-chatter of the birds outside and hence the name. Literally meaning “the
humming of the birds”, this shed is an unbarred, brick-walled supported
thatched roof, allowing for the winds to breeze in. Besides, the food will
always calm you down here.

Literally meaning “the humming of the birds”, this shed is an unbarred, brick-walled supported thatched roof (picture courtesy: Kamalendu Ray), allowing for the winds to breeze in. The tables are so arranged that you face each other while having your food.

Food

Half the remedial curing was done by the food. A typical
day’s menu starts with the pampering bed tea. For breakfast, one has
options of plain or stuffed paratha, puri or poha along with suitable curry or
sabzi, followed by egg and fruit and a tangy pickle. Lunch is either plain or
fried rice, daal, potato or brinjal fry, mixed vegetables, chutney, salad and
sweet. Non-vegetarian platter includes a fish or chicken preparation. Snacks
include samosa with tea. Dinner is the same as lunch with an added option of mutton
preparation depending on availability.

The Garden

Once you are past the gates, you are apparently worlds away from the pandemonium of the city. The first thing that would strike you, is the absolute lushness of the place. The garden bloomed in layers of various colors. Seasonal flowers greet the visitors comforting the eyes, metaphorical to the healing.

Seasonal flowers greet the visitors comforting the eyes, metaphorical to the healing.

Certainly, you would be away
from the mayhem of the city and be thrown into orderly mayhem of colours. Provided the time is ripe, the garden flowers with a variety of seasonal blossoms. The garden also houses a shaded "adda" with the caned chairs as seatings. A stepped well, although not of use now, is there to pose for your camera. Be careful enough, by its curves.

The garden also houses a shaded "adda" with the caned chairs as seatings. A stepped well, although not of use now, is there to pose for your camera (Picture courtesy: Soumyo Chattopadhyay). Be careful enough, by its curves.

Places to Visit at Manoharpur: In and Around Santoor Guest House

Santoor Guest House is not just another name in your staycation appendix though. Should you ever feel to venture out in the wild, all you need is to step out and go for a safari through the Saranda Forest or might take a walk by the banks of Koel and Koyena rivers. Just so much as you are of the outdoorsy kind, Santoor aids by arranging guided tours to the forest- Jeep Safaris to Saranda- yet again a perfect reason to get your Go-Pros out.

The drivers are trusted and well-experienced persons who are associated with Santoor for a long time. Guides from Santoor accompany the tourists carrying packed lunch along with them.

***

The raw and the picturesque beauty of the Chota Nagpur Plateau will draw you in. There are a number of tribal villages that one could visit near the forest. A safari through the Saranda forest is pretty much the tourist attraction. The aroma of the jungle will gulp you up along with the eerie sound of the silence. Amidst the greens, you would find coves running through. Waterfalls with a fractured craggy backdrop, webbed with roots of trees, are frequent eye candies here. One might stop at the Jhingri and Pachera falls, or contemplate the view of the flowing Karo River at Pundul. The Kiriburu viewpoint is famous for reasons quite obvious. It offers an admirable 360-degree view of the surrounding seven hills. The entry to the Bolani Iron mines is restricted and can be viewed from outside only. The landscape of Roam has the heaviest Quartz deposition, and arrests all the colors it could, to offer a kaleidoscopic view. Also, a quick peek into the caves is a catch in Tholkobad.

The raw and the picturesque beauty of the Chota Nagpur Plateau will draw you in. There are a number of tribal villages (picture courtesy: Soumyo Chattopadhay) that one could visit near the forest.

Best Time to Visit

The summers here are unbearably heated
while the winters are the perfect time to roam around. Monsoons, better are
avoided, to avoid the patchy atmosphere. The into the forest jeeps would be a big no-no then. However, if you are up for just the staycation, then so be it.November to mid-April is the best time
as the flower blossoming would be a delight to the sore eyes.

Tariff

The tariff is inclusive of the following
facilities:

Free
Transport / Pick-Up from Station to Santoor Guest House and Back to
Manoharpur Station

Hot
Water is provided for taking bath at the Guest House

Food (breakfast, lunch/packed lunch, evening snacks, dinner)

Tariff Break-up: Per Head Per Day

Age
up to 3yrs: No Charge

Age
between 3-12 yrs: Rs. 900

Age
above 12 Yrs: Rs.1800

Check-Out Time: 24 hrs.

For Safaris, usually, 5 adults can be accommodated in the vehicle comfortably, while 6 wll be a compact number (1Front + 4Middle +1Back). A total of Rs 3000 per Vehicle (Non-A/C Scorpio) per Day inclusive of fuel is charged for a full day. A companion from Santoor will escort the tourist carrying lunch. If one wants to visit Sameej Ashram, the vehicle of choice is Tata Magic
with charges Rs 1500 per vehicle.

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrive Manoharpur before noon.
After having lunch at the immediate afternoon visit Sameej Ashram and return by evening

Day 2

Visit Kiriburu and Meghataburu
and return by evening. On the way visit Jhingri and Pacheri Falls.

Day 3

Start off for Tholkobad or
Roam and back by evening.

Day 4

Local sight-seeing. Have lunch at set off for the station to board the train.

Requirements

Booking Procedure

In order to avoid the rush, it is better to book the accommodation beforehand. Most likely, a non-refundable 50% of the total tariff is to be advanced one month prior to the visit. The hosts can be connected through
their Facebook Page or phone number.

A civil engineer and researcher by profession and an avid traveler, hailing from India, with an appetite for experiencing places in a more instinctive way- absorbing the culture and the tradition, the dialect and the geography of the place. Be it any ‘-scape’, mountain, sea, city or desert, conquering the unknown is always a thrill, an added adventure activity would be a quintessential spree. The motto is more like, vini vidi vici, a little modified to “I came, I saw, I ticked it off my map”; even if it is a short day trip, an off-the-beaten path excites me more.